As the AFL season comes around we are all reminded of the importance of teamwork. In any team, each member has to be able to do their job well. Those who are multiskilled or excel in their particular speciality are particularly valuable.

Nonetheless, the one infallible rule of a team game is that unless you are a team player you are a burden. You will detract from the team. With that in mind, those Liberals who, in good faith, voted for Cory Bernardi to be No. 1 on the South Australian Senate ticket must be somewhat disappointed.

I don't share many of his views but so what? I believe it is in our interest to promote a society where we all enjoy freedom of expression. That freedom gives each of us the right to express ourselves. Importantly it also allows us to benefit from the rich diversity of views expressed.

The downside of it is we all occasionally have to listen to views with which we might strongly disagree. That in itself is no great hardship for people with a modicum of emotional intelligence. However, it is much less palatable when someone chooses to exercise their right to freedom of expression in a way that deeply offends others using deliberately inflammatory language. It seems then to be more about creating a fight and wanting the inevitable media attention than it does about expressing a view.

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Senator Bernardi appears to deliberately choose his language in order to get that attention. While I think it is stupid and juvenile to do so he is entitled to choose that path. He is, of course, preaching only to the converted. He is revving up his supporters. He is not converting anyone.

He is not showing us he has the skills to win people over. In politics the capacity to win people over, to convert people, is vital. Anyone can get in the ring and hurl abuse. Winning votes is another matter altogether. The real problem is not his views. The real problem seems to be that by his own actions, he repeatedly reveals himself to lack the discipline needed to be a team player.

His latest foray into abortion is a case in point. It is well known that Tony Abbott has had to deal with the fact that many Australian women disagree with his views in this area. He has worked to assure us that he has no plans to change the laws. Clearly, significant effort was made during the campaign to show him as being a blokey bloke, but also a guy who has had the benefit of years of living with his wife and daughters. The issue was off the agenda.

Then along comes Cory. Raising abortion in January was destined to get significant publicity. Abbott is big enough and busy enough to bypass it, but that isn't the point. The point is Bernardi showed either a lack of judgment in raising it or, worse, an indifference as to whether it would cause a problem. If you are not sensitive to, or just don't care about, the problems you could cause your leader you clearly don't care enough about the team. With friends like Bernardi who needs enemies?

The other aspect of Bernardi's outburst is how it seems to be so loaded with bile about women who choose to have an abortion. As one indignant letter to the editor rightly pointed out, it takes two to tango. One wonders why Bernardi isn't out advocating the old anti-AIDS line promoting the use of condoms: ''Tell him, if it's not on, it's not on.''

If he was advocating that men and boys take responsibility by never having sex without using a condom people might react in a more positive fashion. Women in particular. Bernardi, as a not bad looking, if obsessively fit, middle-aged man, might be just the sort of person to take the responsible sex message out to young Australian boys. He would be helping to shut the gate rather than complaining about the horse having bolted.

Bernardi had more than one chance at showing the world what a good team player he can be. Malcolm Turnbull gave him a chance. Bernardi couldn't resist a public gibe at his senior South Australian colleague Chris Pyne and refused to apologise. Turnbull, rightly, sacked him. It was no surprise that Bernardi subsequently voted for Abbott over Turnbull. Tony Abbott then restored him as a parliamentary secretary.

It didn't last long. Enormous offence was taken at remarks he made with respect to Islam. He said he was not opposed to Muslims but to the Islamic religion and used terminology to describe a fundamentalist Islamic approach. It was extremely provocative. It upset many people who are moderate Muslims and who have friends in those communities.

I have friends who are practising Christians over a variety of denominations, with a varying degree of commitment. I know of none who, because the Bible cautions against wearing shirts of mixed fibre, worry at all about this admonition. They clearly don't accept an ''eye for an eye'' because they don't condone the death penalty.

If Bernardi wants to take everything in the Bible literally, he will never eat another oyster or lovely blue swimmer crab or scallop. Oh dear.

Abbott warned him. Bernardi ignored it and went way over the top in his remarks on a gay marriage bill. Linking the approval of same-sex relationships with polygamy and bestiality was just too much and Abbott sacked him.

Here's what Abbott said at the time: ''Discipline is critical. Team play is vital. And that's what Cory has had some problems with. And that's why I thought it was very important to act quickly and decisively as I have.''

Abbott went on to say that while the Coalition did not support gay marriage there was no place for remarks that were offensive to people in same-sex relationships.

In the AFL, as in politics, being a team player is vital. Bernardi has had two chances. There won't be another.

Amanda Vanstone is a columnist for The Age and was a minister in the Howard government.

165 comments

Oh, the lady does protest too much. Liberals did not vote Mr Bernardi. He was place in the No. 1 on the South Australian Senate ticket by the party or the Team. Almost all folk tick above the line to support the Party of their choice. It was the Party that felt so much of Mr Bernardi that rewarded him with such an honoured position. Personally, I'm not particularly bothered. Mr Bernardi utterance can be quite amusing. There is the funny debate by innuendo about his possible repressed sexuality . But if I were Amanda Vanstone, I wouldn't settle on marginalizing him by puerile humour, but agonizing over how to stop the damage to the Liberal brand-name. Time for the Party heavies to have a word I would think. Unless Mr Bernardi has more influence over the SA Liberal party than we might hope.

Commenter

Fluellen

Location

Preston

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 4:02AM

I think you failed to comprehend this article (as did quite a few of your fellow commentators - it's symptomatic of the knee-jerk reaction to the byline I suspect).

Vanstone was quite clear in her statement - she sympathised with those Liberals who voted (internally) to put Bernardi at the No 1 spot on the Senate ticket; she wasn't talking about the election itself.

She is also highly critical of Bernardi, and rightly so - the man is a loose cannon, and his beliefs are well outside the "broad church" that the Liberal party claims to be.

Like you I think it is overdue for him to have his senate position revoked; but I suspect he has leverage somewhere unfortunately.

Commenter

rob1966

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 5:26AM

His leverage is an implied agreement by the Supreme LNP Leader. He now appears to become a scapegoat of what the LNP secretly advocate for. The concept of a team player must so forth be applied to the party as well towards the so called LNP prodigal son. Is this a way of LNP white washing their hands of their own? Of course, if he is able to diplomatically, elegantly, and eloquently express the views of LNP rather than the direct blunt approach, he would have become the favourite LNP son. Agree with Fluellen. Cory Bernardi's book is comedy at its best dressed in exquisite attire. LNP is a gift that keeps on giving.

Commenter

LNP

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 6:54AM

Good work Preston. Pretty much took the words form my mouth. If the SA Liberal endorsed Mr Bernardi then THEY endorse his views. Ms Vanstone's attempt to put space between Bernardi and the party are transparent.

Commenter

Miguel

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 7:44AM

Stamp out dissent makes sense if politics = football, but, governance should not be football. Cory Bernardi represents probably a lot of people, instead of stamping him out why not ask him to debate Sarah Hanson Young, but not on Q&A, it's too biased. Sarah Hanson Young has undermined the Greens with her agenda and is barely called to account. That's because the Greens are allowed any policy which is against conservative policy, that's how their coalition works. They can have global overpopulation and sustainablity at the same time and no-one complains. But let Cory Bernardi rehash anything from the mid-20th century and he is called illegitimate. Free speech please.

Commenter

bg

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 8:13AM

Bernardi makes a mess and Abbott sends in a woman to do the cleaning up. He doesn't have the guts to do it himself.

Commenter

Doug

Location

Canberra

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 8:37AM

LNP January 20, 2014, 9:54AM

Well observed. Bill Heffernan -played a similar role for Howard - it allows the more vitriolic of the party's fringe-dwellers to think they're being kept faith with. It's also a try-on to see just how much they can get away with.

Commenter

BillR

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 8:38AM

Perhaps this is just an opinion piece. Or, The Age and subs should from this day forward, no longer accept any opinion from someone associated with any political party.

Commenter

$keptic

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 9:41AM

While we are at it, apparently the Martians have touched down on the Mornington Peninsula.

Commenter

$keptic

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

January 20, 2014, 9:42AM

BG @ 11.13am “Sarah Hanson Young has undermined the Greens with her agenda and is barely called to account. That's because the Greens are allowed any policy which is against conservative policy, that's how their coalition works.”.

It’s an extraordinary and illogical proposition that the Greens and supporters deserve criticism for not criticising SHY over her alleged dissent from the Party Line, because Vanstone has criticised Bernardi.

You’re wrong about SHY dissenting from her Party’s position on sustainability and population. She tows the Party line based on what I have heard her say.

Even if SHY’s dissent was true, it is not hypocritical or suppressing free speech for others to here discuss the issues at hand (without reference to SHY) which are: Vanstone’s views on Bernardi’s views and Bernardis’ views. SHY is not relevant. There are word limits.

“They (the Greens) can have global overpopulation and sustainablity at the same time and no-one complains.” The Greens did not create nor as far as I am aware encourage the global population levels. Their policy is to limit global population to sustainable levels. You complain about their imaginary policies by all means but don’t expect others to do so who are cognisant of their actual policies.

What “Greens coalition” are you talking about? The only coalition I am aware of is the LNP’s.

Saying its about free speech obfuscates as Vanstone acknowledges the right to this – but the import is this is qualified by Bernardi’s obligations to his party. No one made Bernardi sign up to the Party or its rules.

Where did V or prior posts (to yours) state B's views were illegitimate? That is your extrapolation.